Nagoya, Japan, 28 October
2010 – Participants attending the Tunza
International Children's Conference on the
Environment culminated in a Declaration
on Biodiversity
presented today to the high-level segment
of the Conference of the Parties of the
UN Convention on Biological Diversity in
Nagoya, Japan.
They stressed that as
children their action plan to make the habitat
of living things a better place would be
to plant trees, become more familiar with
nature in order to realize its importance
and endeavor not to litter. Furthermore,
they declared that in order to sustainably
support biological resources, they would
use food wisely, recycle daily and use paper
resourcefully.
And in response to this
the adults were asked to make a more significant
commitment to the enforcement of laws which
limit the amount of fishing and protect
the environment from the pollution through
the use of more protected areas. In the
case that any nations or people do not observe
these laws, adults were asked to set the
rules and with strict penalties.
The conference, which
was hosted by the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), in cooperation with the
Aichi Prefectural Government and the City
of Nagoya, brought together over 220 children
and chaperones from around 40 countries
and took place simultaneously with the UN
conference on the protection of biodiversity.
Organized to give youth
opportunities to share their experiences
concerning the environment, climate change
and environmental protection, the conference
also gave them the chance to discuss the
state of biodiversity and what they can
do to protect species worldwide in their
own lives.
The children urged adults
to reduce the burden to the eco-system,
and avoid development in rare species' habitat.
As well as encouraging them to use local
resources and products to reduce their carbon
footprint, the children asked the adults
for the use of commitment contracts in order
to return part of the profits towards conserving
biodiversity.
The conference saw children
debate on the sustainable use of biological
resources, the implementation of laws and
ways to deal with invasive species. In addition
they used the opportunity to share and learn
about the ecosystems of different nations
and expressed their concern for Mother Earth
by preparing so-called "Biodiversity
Maps" of their regions.
The spirit of this declaration
was anchored in a resolve by the children
to learn and communicate with each other,
and promote Communication, Education and
Public Awareness (CEPA) about the importance
of biodiversity.
Notes to Editors
TUNZA is a word in Kiswahili
(the common language of most East African
countries) that means to "treat with
care". The programme is based on a
strategy that aims to provide young people
with information and tools on how to "treat
Mother Earth with care" and how to
Act for a better world.
UNEP works in partnership
with children from all over the world. Children
are represented by a Junior Board which
is elected every two years during UNEP's
TUNZA International Children's Conference.
http://unep.org/tunza/
